Author Archive

Vatertag – Father’s Day in Germany

Father’s Day in Germany is celebrated differently from other parts of the world. It is always celebrated on Ascension Day (the Thursday forty days after Easter), which is a federal holiday. Originally, during the middle Ages, Father’s Day was a religious celebration to honor God the Father.

While in many countries the Father’s Day ritual involves little more than writing a card and giving the gift of a new pair of socks — with breakfast in bed if the father is especially lucky — the Germans have turned it into a true holiday for the country’s men. They are granted carte blanche to get riotously rip-roaring drunk.

Regionally, it is also called men’s day, Männertag, or gentlemen’s day, Herrentag. It is tradition to do a males-only hiking tour with one or more smaller wagons, Bollerwagen, pulled by manpower. In the wagons are wine, beer or schnapps and traditional regional food, Hausmannskost.

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Ingredient List:

1.1 lb Asparagus

1 pinch of Sugar

1 tbs Butter

1.8 oz flour

1 Cup chicken of beef stock

1 pinch of nutmeg

1 egg yolk

1 tbs liquid cream

1 handful of fresh parsley

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In the months April to June Germany offers a tasty surprise for the gourmets under us.

White Asparagus

Asparagus is known as the "royal vegetable" in Germany, a nickname gained because (as in France) it was only available to the nobility. It was during the reign of Louis XIV the French Sun King, who grew asparagus in green houses so he could enjoy it all year, that asparagus regained popularity in Europe as a luxury vegetable reserved for the tables of nobles and the various royal courts, and in 16th century Germany ‘Spargel’ began to be cultivated around Stuttgart.

A ‘Catalogue of Herbs and Trees’ from the time, covering the ‘Pleasure Garden’ of a German Duke from the area, described asparagus as ‘delightful fare for lovers of food’.

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In Germany the maypole is a tradition going back to the 16th century. It is a decorated tree or tree trunk that is usually erected either on 1 May – in Baden and Swabia – or on the evening before, for example, in East Frisia. In most areas, especially in Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria and Austria, it is usual to have a ceremony to erect the maypole on the village green. The custom of combining it with a village or town fest, which usually takes place on 30 April, 1 May or at Pentecost (Whitsun), is widespread. This tradition is especially strong in the villages of the Bavarian Alps where the raising of the traditional maypole on 1 May in the village square is a cause for much celebration. The pole is usually painted in the Bavarian colors of white and blue and decorated with emblems depicting local crafts and industry.

Just before the Maibaum is erected, depending on the region, there may be a procession through the village, usually ending up at a central place and/or restaurant and watched by crowds of spectators and accompanied by a brass band. The actual installation of the tree then takes place in the afternoon or evening. While the crowds may spend the time drinking beer and eating sausages, the young men busy themselves with decorating the maypole to get the symbols of various trades representing the region into the right position. Whilst the maypole is traditionally set up with the help of long poles, today it may sometime also be done using tractors, forklifts or even cranes.

If the tree is erected on the eve of 1 May, then the event is usually followed by a May dance or Tanz in den Mai.

Depending on local custom, the Maibaum may remain in place until the end of the month and is then taken down, decorations removed and the trunk stored until the following year. In many parts of Bavaria it remains in place all year round.

On the night of the last day of April, many young men erect small decorated “Maibäume” in front of the houses of their sweethearts. Some attach a red heart with the name of the girl written on it to the tree.

Primarily found within the nations of Germanic Europe and the neighboring areas which they have influenced, its origins remain unknown, although it has been speculated that it originally had some importance in the Germanic paganism of Iron Age and early Medieval cultures, and that the tradition survived Christianization, albeit losing any original meaning that it had. It has been a recorded practice in many parts of Europe throughout the Medieval and Early Modern periods, although became less popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, the tradition is still observed in some parts of Europe and amongst European communities in North America. Read the rest of this entry »

So what in the name of…. Is Walpurgisnacht ????

Well it’s a little old fun tradition, I know we have so many, but never the less here is another one. While not observed in all areas of Germany, especially in the more rural areas you may want to keep an eye out for kids running wild tonight.

Here is some history,

The German term is recorded in the 17th century as Saint Walpurgis Nacht or S. Walpurgis Abend. In earlier references, 1 May is more typically referred to as Jacobi Philippi, after James the Less and Philip, the apostles whose feast day falls on 1 May.

Walpurga was an Anglo-Saxon nun in the 8th century. She returned to Germany, the land of her ancestors, to help out her uncle St. Boniface. Boniface was a real “nice” guy who liked to travel around and defile sacred sites in central Europe as a way of converting the locals to Christianity. Walpurga continued the Family Business by running a monastery in Bavaria. She was canonized for doing a good job at the monastery and for supposedly calming a storm on her boat ride to Germany via prayer.

In Germany, Walpurgisnacht, the night from 30 April to 1 May, is the night when witches are reputed to hold a large celebration and await the arrival of spring.

In some parts of northern coastal regions of Germany, the custom of lighting huge fires is still kept alive to celebrate the coming of May, while most parts of Germany have a derived Christianized custom around Easter called “Easter fires”.

Some of the biggest celebrations can be found on the Brocken (the highest mountain in the Harz) where to this day big celebrations are held. Every year on the feast day of St. Walpurga, hordes of revelers in witches’ costumes gather on the summit of Mount Brocken in the Harz Mountains to celebrate Walpurgis Night. This traditional German festival, an extravaganza of broomsticks and dancing, now attracts people from all over the country. Why not join the thousands of would-be witches on the night proceeding the first of May and turn back the clock to the middle Ages? Read the rest of this entry »

Like last year I want to run the summer countdown again during summer break.

I tried my best last year to come up with fun stuff to do during the summer, but between my own kids being off and going placed I did not get as many places up as I would have liked.

So here is my shout out!!

What place, park or yearly event did you love ? What was a must see for you? Where did your kids want to stay forever?

If you have a place like that and would love to share it for this summer, send me an email.

I need the location, a description and address or website I can get that off. Also if you have some pictures you would like to share.

Put it all together and you will be featured in this year’s summer countdown.

Send it to aaliawinter@gmail.com

Be sure to mark summer countdown into the subject

*** Make sure to choose your pictures well since I will publish them on the website

If you have a die hard Dino Fan in your family one of the Must sees while here in Germany should be the Brachiosaurus skeleton in the Museum of nature and science in Berlin.

The specimen of Brachiosaurus displayed at the Berlin Natural History Museum is the tallest mounted dinosaur skeleton in the world. The skeleton was discovered in 1912 at Tendaguru in Tanzania and shipped to the Berlin museum for display. In the picture my little sister can be seen at the front to illustrate the enormous size of this fabulous creature. The skeleton is so large that if she had been allowed to walk under it I don’t think she could reach its ribs.
Obviously, such as large animal has many problems existing at such a large scale. One of the most interesting for Brachiosaurus brancai is its blood pressure.             

Because of its long neck its blood pressure would be about 2 to 3 times a modern Giraffe which seems beyond reasonable limits. It has been suggested that such a high pressure would rupture its heart. This problem of high blood pressure would not exist on a Reduced Gravity Earth because blood pressure is lower in a reduced gravity.

The museum is located:

Museum für Naturkunde
Invalidenstrasse 43
10115 Berlin
Germany

Opening hours

Tue to Fri: 9.30 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.
Sat, Sun & holidays:
10.00 a.m. – 6.00 p.m.
Mon closed

Admission

Adults: 6,- Euro
Children: 3,50 Euro

Contact

Phone +49 (0)30 2093-8591
E-mail info@mfn-berlin.de
Guided tours
+49 (0)30 2093-8550

More info on the Dino Exhibitions

While you may not live off base, your child may end up in contact with local kids. Especially when it comes to the teen years it’s a good idea to know what is allowed for kids here in Germany and when will the police be dropping your youngster off at your doorstep.

So let’s start with the teenies:

When it comes to going out clubbing, drinking or hanging out at the pub, here are the rules (they are actually Laws to protect minors in Germany)

No Child under 14 is allowed in a Discotheque, unless the club is used for a closed event ran by a known club or family and even then kids are to be home by 10pm unless accompanied by the parent

Starting at 16 children are allowed in the Discotheque even without parents until 12am (midnight) Police is known to do checks in clubs after midnight to make sure all under aged kids are out and are happy to provide embarrassing rides home.

Drinking … and boy do we love our beer here:

Starting at 14 kids are allowed to consume small amounts of wine and beer with a parent present.

Starting at 16 you are allowed to buy and consume alcoholic drinks like wine and beer. Hard liquor, cocktails, whisky, brandy and alike are not allowed to be served, sold or be consumed by kids under 18.

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If you’re out on the road right now you may notice strange traffic signs with frogs on them. It’s toad travel season. While not headed for the beach these little amphibians travel quite some distance.

The mild weather wakes the toads form their winter homes in the dark woods and they start crawling towards ponds and lakes. Rain and temperatures during the night around 7 degrees Celsius is ideal for them. It makes them flirty and looking for places to lay their eggs and in 3 to 4 month the little tadpoles will hatch.

Did you know?

The females will walk up to 5 kilometers to the next pond even carrying their mate piggyback. They are known to be burdened with up to ten potential husbands on their back…. Aye talk about desperate men…

But their way is paved with many dangers and obstacles. The biggest of them all … mankind. Often roads cross migration routes and make it impossible to cross safely.

Conservationists build little fences and barriers at critical road points to prevent toads from being run over.
Every few meters along the fence they burry buckets in the ground, to collect the toads trying to cross. The buckets are usually emptied, twice a day, on the other side of the road.

Valentinstag (14. Februar)

Though celebrating Valentine’s Day has only become popular within the last few decades in Germany, there are several traditions the Germans have taken on whole-heartedly. This includes giving cards, sweet treats and flowers to their loved ones on this special day.

The origins of both the man known as Valentinus and the celebration itself are obscure. Little is known about the Roman (or Romans) who may have been a bishop in Terni or a priest in Rome. Although several legends have arisen around the Christian martyr Valentinus, there is no historical evidence that connects him to lovers or today’s Feb. 14 Valentine celebration. As in the case of other Christian celebrations, Valentine’s Day is more likely based on the pagan Roman fertility festival called Lupercalia that took place in mid-February. The Lupercalia only ended in 495 when it was banned by the pope.

In Germany, it is customary to express love and affection all year long, not just on one day of the year. Many Germans give items that could be considered romantic at any time of year.

Contrary to popular belief, Germans are actually quite romantic; especially when it comes to a world love fest day like Valentine’s Day Red is considered as the color of love from ancient times. As people celebrate Valentine’s Day with Red rose’s bouquets worldwide, Germany also follow it. In Germany it has become a ritual for the young men who were courting to gift his beloved flowers on Valentine’s Day. This ancient symbol of love still has high impact on the teenagers of this postmodern age too.

Unlike countries like United Sates of America and United Kingdom, Valentine’s Day is celebrated as a mature people’s festival in Germany. No half trouser clad little boy gives cute little heart shaped card to his girlfriend in school.

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